The beginning of the academic year is upon us. I hope this message finds you rested and rejuvenated from a summer well spent. The Academic Senate continued its work during summer, so, as we move into fall, I would like to provide a few updates from the summer.

A New Chancellor

The Academic Senate welcomes our new chancellor, Eloy Ortiz Oakley. Incoming Chancellor Oakley has supported the Academic Senate on many occasions and has demonstrated his respect for the voice of the faculty and his commitment to working collegially with all constituent groups. He is a leader of exceptional knowledge, skill, and experience, and the Academic Senate looks forward to partnering with him to serve the students of the
California Community Colleges. We are pleased that Chancellor Oakley will be giving the keynote address at our Fall Plenary Session. He will begin his appointment on December 19. To read more about the Chancellor, click here.

Academic Academy

This year, the theme for the Academic Academy is
Better Together – Faculty Collaboration for Improved Student Services, Increased Student Equity, and More Effective Educational Pathways. The academy provides a wonderful space for faculty from all areas on campus to come together and renew their shared commitment to success for all students. Presentations will cover such topics as creating faculty partnerships in credit and noncredit instruction, building educational pathways, and cultivating cultural competence. The Academic Academy will be held on October 7 -8, 2016 at the Westin South Coast Plaza. Please join us for what is sure to be an exceptionally rewarding event. For more information, visit the ASCCC
Academic Academy webpage.

Accreditation

Efforts to improve the accreditation process continue this fall. Last year, the chief executive officers from colleges statewide convened two workgroups. Workgroup I, comprised of chancellors and CEOs, accreditation liaison officers, the president and vice-president of the Academic Senate, and ACCJC commissioner liaisons, was charged to propose changes that would improve ACCJC’s
current processes and produced a preliminary report to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges in June. This workgroup recently received a response from ACCJC and will be meeting in September to discuss next steps. Workgroup II, comprised of CEOs from ACCJC member institutions, also continues its work to explore alternatives that would join the community college accreditation process with that of four-year institutions. Frequent updates on both workgroups and all efforts involving ACCJC may be found on the Community College League of California’s website.

ACCJC

In August, ACCJC contacted many faculty members requesting a letter of support for submission to the US Department of Education (USDE) and the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Improvement (NACIQI). The Academic Senate received a number of inquiries desiring guidance on how to respond to ACCJC’s request. The Executive Committee disseminated advice on how to respond. The letter was sent out on the ASCCC Senate Presidents’ on Tuesday, August 23 and may be found on the ASCCC
Accreditation and Assessment Committee webpage.

Legislation

Proposed legislation continues to make its way through the process. A number of bills have been held in Appropriations Committees while others have passed out. The ASCCC has adopted positions on the following bills and is closely monitoring them:

Those bills that are enrolled will be sent to the governor for his signature. Those held by appropriations have passed the deadline for funding in this legislative cycle. The ASCCC will continue to monitor these bill and others. Legislative updates and additional information may be found on the
Legislative Update webpage.

Periodic Evaluation of the Academic Senate

This fall, the Periodic Review Committee will be assessing the operations, processes, policies, and programs of the Academic Senate as directed by Resolution 1.02 S13. The committee will work through the fall and spring semesters to evaluate the organization and provide commendations and recommendations on the following areas of the organization: mission, governance, responsible fiscal stewardship, professional integrity, openness and disclosure, inclusivity and diversity, and grants, programs, and planning. The committee’s findings will be reported to the body during the Spring 2017 Plenary Session. Information on the process may be found on the ASCCC website
under the Executive Committee tab.

Strong Workforce Program and Recommendations

The Academic Senate is significantly involved in many aspects of the Strong Workforce Program and continues to implement the Strong Workforce Task Force recommendations. The governor’s trailer bill, Senate Bill 830, directed the Academic Senate to establish a CTE subcommittee to provide recommendations on career technical education. The legislation also required that the charge of the committee include providing assistance
to colleges and districts to ensure that CTE is responsive to industry and that courses, programs and degrees are portable among colleges. The Academic Senate’s CTE Leadership Committee was reconfigured to meet the requirements of the legislation and will work toward fulfilling the new charge. A progress report on the Strong Workforce Task Force recommendations affecting Curriculum and CTE Faculty may be found in under Resources on the ASCCC Curriculum Committee page.

Upcoming ASCCC Events

Academic Academy, October 7-8, 2016, Westin South Coast Plaza

Area Meetings, October 14 (North) and October 15
(South)

Curriculum Regional Meetings, October 21 (North) and October 22 (South)

MQs and Equivalency Regional Meetings, October 28 (North) and October 29 (South)

Fall Plenary Session, November 3 to 5, 2016, Westin South
Coast Plaza

Formerly Incarcerated Students Regional Meetings, November 18 and November 19

Contextualized Teaching and Learning Regional Meetings, December 2 and December 3

Common Assessment Initiative Regional Meetings,
December 9 and December 10

The ASCCC is always happy to provide assistance or guidance on any senate-related topic. We also make visits to local colleges to connect directly with academic senates or other faculty bodies when appropriate. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in these services.